Sunday, 30 June 2013

The Avenue of the Giants

I have a confession to make. Today we drove through a tree - twice. Not into a tree, but actually through a passageway carved into the base of a tree - two different trees in fact. One might have been an aberration of character, but two is simply unforgivable.

We are in Northern California, where the Coastal Redwoods grow. They are the tallest trees in the world; majestic and awe-inspiring. Standing at the base of these magnificent giants is enough to make the most ardent atheist believe in the power of God. The Coastal Redwoods can live for thousands of years and reach heights of more than 350 ft (106 m). Only 4% of the once millions of acres of trees remain. The rest were felled for timber. It is hard to believe that such destruction would be allowed to occur today.

A fallen giant

Away from the drive-thru trees and the trees carved into houses, RVs and various other obscene caricatures there are miles and miles of quiet pathways to walk, cycle and contemplate nature. This is simply a wonderful place to be.

For my next (and last) post in this series click - hereFor all my posts on this road trip click - here